Up the Creek towards Happiness
by Tanaka InuTasha
Summary: After Creek's banishment he turns gray and meets up with a rare rainbow troll, Spectra who has also become gray. Can the two bring each other happiness and regain their colors? Or with their pasts come back to haunt them? Songs included!
1. The Aura has turned Dark

_**Up the Creek towards Happiness**_

Ch. 1 The Aura has turned Dark

Deep in a dreary grey forest, sat a lone bumpy hill. At least, that's what it appeared to be. The grassy facade was just a ruse for this was a creature known as a Hillingder, a camouflaged monster that swallows its prey whole. Suddenly, the enormous beast began coughing violently as something flew off of its purple and yellow tongue. *Gasp* "Finally! Fresh air!" A light mulberry troll with a peach colored nose and blue hair fading to teal at the tip emerged from a small pool of saliva. He wore yellow pants and a neon green hug-time bracelet. It was Creek, the traitorous troll that had sold out his village to the Bergens. Though it had taken a couple of days and a lot of use of his hair, he managed to evade death by the Hillingder unlike his unfortunate companion the Bergen chef. Right now the lone troll had one thing on his mind: getting home. The naïve troll thought to himself as he began the long walk, " _I had no choice. Sell everyone out or get eaten. They'll understand... What's the worst that can happen?_ "

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Ack! Can't breath mate!", Creek choked for air as he grabbed at Branch's cobalt hair around his neck. Poppy put a hand on the blue troll's shoulder and he released his hair hold. "Thank you, Poppy.", The purple troll gasped.  
"You don't have the right to thank me!", The pink troll queen snapped as she whipped her hair at his feet causing him to trip. ,"You betrayed our kind, sold us all out to be eaten and worst of all... you broke my heart!"  
Creek dusted himself off. ,"Like I said before I had no choice. Anyone of you guys would do the same if you ended up in a Bergen's mouth!"  
"You don't understand how wrong you are, do you?", Cooper, the giraffe like troll spoke up.  
"Any of us would accept our fate rather than deceive everyone!", Biggie said holding his worm Mr. Dinkles.  
"Yeah!", Satin and Chenille chimed in, their voices synchronizing in that cliché twin way.  
The formally grey troll spoke up, "What you did to us was unforgivable!"  
"Exactly," Poppy agreed as she walked up to the traitor, "So as queen I hereby banish you from the Troll Village!"  
"Oh my god!", Smidge gasped in her deep voice.  
"WHAT?"  
Before he could protest, Guy Diamond tossed a backpack of Creek's belongings at him knocking the purple troll to the ground. "You can take your le-e-e-e-eve!", He rang out in his autotuned voice.  
Poppy bent down and looked Creek in the eye as she spoke, "You said it yourself Creek: You've got to live with this for the rest of your life."  
Creek looked around as the entire troll village pointed towards the exit before running off. He did stop running till he found himself at the edge of a stream. A memory flashed in his mind.  
 ***** _Back before the Great Troll Escape led by King Peppy, he lived in the Troll Tree with his mom, Zen Chakra. Unlike her son who got his coloring from his father, Zen was a creamy orange with buttermilk yellow hair. Being stuck in the tree, the only water the trolls had was a small pool that the tree provided. Most had never seen a real body of water. One day, little Creek went up to his mother and asked, "Mommy, what's a creek? Some of the other kids keep asking me that." Zen smiled and took her son onto her knee and spoke in a soft gentle voice. "A creek is a beautiful thing, my son. It's a body of water that flows so ever so gently. I believe one day, we'll escape this place, find a creek or a stream and follow it to happiness." She smiled and booped his nose. Unfortunately Zen Chakra never got to see that day for she was taken from the Troll Tree by Chef while Creek was out playing._ *****  
Back in the present day Creek thought to himself as he stared into the water. " _Maybe if I follow this...I'll find a new home._ " It was a deep inner thought for as the lone troll sang quietly to himself, all he felt was a deep sadness as his bright colors faded.  
 _ **Creek:**_ _I'm tired of waking up in tears_  
 _'Cause I can't put to bed these phobias and fears_  
 _I'm new to this grief I can't explain_  
 _But I'm no stranger to the heartache and the pain_

 _The fire I began is burning me alive_  
 _But I know better than to leave and let it die_

 _I'm a silhouette asking every now and then_  
 _"Is it over yet? Will I ever feel again?"_  
 _I'm a silhouette chasing rainbows on my own_  
 _But the more I try to move on, the more I feel alone_  
 _So I watch the summer stars to lead me home_

 _I'm sick of the past I can't erase_  
 _A jumble of footprints and hasty steps I can't retrace_  
 _The mountain of things I still regret_  
 _Is a vile reminder that I would rather just forget (no matter where I go)_

 _The fire I began is burning me alive_  
 _But I know better than to leave and let it die_

 _I'm a silhouette asking every now and then (now and then)_  
 _"Is it over yet? Will I ever smile again?"_  
 _I'm a silhouette chasing rainbows on my own_  
 _But the more I try to move on, the more I feel alone_  
 _So I watch the summer stars to lead me home_

 _'Cause I walk alone_  
 _No matter where I go_  
 _'Cause I walk alone_  
 _No matter where I go_  
 _'Cause I walk alone_  
 _No matter where I go_

 _I'm a silhouette asking every now and then (now and then)_  
 _"Is it over yet? Will I ever love again?"_  
 _I'm a silhouette chasing rainbows on my own_  
 _But the more I try to move on, the more I feel alone_  
 _So I watch the summer stars to lead me home_

 _I watch the summer stars to lead me home._

 **AN/ My first Trolls fanfic! Despite the hate of the character I just adore Creek and believe there's more to his character. So this is my story of redemption for him! BTW, since this is a musical there will be a playlist at the end of each chapter. Next time: My OC will be introduced! Till then, enjoy!**

 **Songs used:** **Silhouette by Owl City**


	2. A Companion just as Grey

_**Up the Creek towards Happiness**_

Ch. 2 A Companion just as Grey

It had been many days since Creek had been banished. Despite changing grey, he pressed on in search for a new home, keeping close to the stream as some sort of guide. He walked along the edge by day, only stopping to hide from potential predators, and camped out wrapped in a leaf while the rushing water lulled him to sleep by night. But he wasn't as equipped for survival as Branch and by the second week had run out of food. "Great! I'm going to have to leave the stream." The newly stone grey troll had grown accustomed to talking to himself. He grabbed his bag and reluctantly headed into the forest looking for berries and freshly fallen fruit. The forest was dark regardless of the day and every sound seemed in his mind to be a predator. "Just find some food and get out." He trembled. "Just find some food and get out." Suddenly a bird squawked in the distance and all he could think about was being nearly swallowed once. "Gah ha! Not again!" Creek shouted as he ran blindly till hiding being a tree root. After quivering for a while, he got up and looked around. Nothing was familiar. "And now I'm lost! Perfect day this has turned out to be!" He slumped against the root wondering what to do when he heard a voice from up ahead. There was a clearing where the sun peeked through covered in berry bushes and flowers. At the base of one of the raspberry bushes was a female troll. Her skin was as grey as Creek's if not a tad lighter. Wrapped around her arms and legs were greyscale stripes. Her hair was every shade of grey you could imagine from jet black to almost white. She wore a dark purple short sleeved hoodie, black jeans with shredded knees and a blue scarf around her neck. She sang in the most beautiful voice Creek had ever heard.

 _Now I've heard there was a secret chord_  
 _That one troll played, and it pleased the Lord_  
 _But you don't really care for music, do you?_  
 _It goes like this the fourth, the fifth_  
 _The minor fall and the major lift_  
 _The baffled king composing "Hallelujah"_

 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_  
 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_

 _You say I took the name in vain_  
 _I don't even know the name_  
 _But if I did, well really, what's it to you?_  
 _There's a blaze of light in every word_  
 _It doesn't matter what you heard_  
 _The holy or the broken Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_  
 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_

 _I did my best, it wasn't much_  
 _I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch_  
 _I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you_  
 _And even though it all went wrong_  
 _I'll stand before the Lord of Song_  
 _With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_  
 _Hallelujah, Hallelu-_  
 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_  
 _Hallelujah, Hallelu-_  
 _Hallelujah_

During her song Creek had walked right up behind her as if drawn in by the music. "That was beautiful..." He said softly. The young girl troll whipped around so fast she dropped her berries everywhere. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."  
"You didn't scare me." She smirked, reaching for the fallen food. "I just haven't heard another voice in a while."  
"You and me both." he grinned helping her pick up the berries. "I'm Creek, by the way."  
"I'm Spectra." She placed a hand on her hip before saying, "So what are you doing out here anyway? I've gotta say, you don't look like a troll that gets out in the forest too often."  
Creek smiled awkwardly, "Is it really that obvious?"  
"Well, your face is covered in dirt and I could have sworn I heard someone screaming like a girl earlier."  
"Solid burn" Creek replied reaching for some berries on the bush and trying his best not to blush. "If you must know, something happened to me that... led to a misunderstanding and I was thrown out of my tribe." He sighed as he recalled his banishment. "I've been following the stream for days in search of a new place to live but-"  
Spectra grabbed another raspberry and tossed it into her own bag. "You carelessly ran out of food, got spooked and are now hopelessly lost?"  
"Aren't you just a wildfire of burns and sass." Creek rolled his eyes at her cheekiness.  
The young she-troll smiled with smugness. "You're looking at a girl who's lived her whole life in the wilderness. You don't survive this long by acting like life is one big cupcake." She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. But you're in luck; I needed to refill my water anyway so I can take you back to the stream." 

XxXxXxXxXxX 

After Spectra had taken Creek back to the stream, she basically told him to be careful and they parted ways. But as night fell, the lone, gray she-troll had a few thoughts in the back of her mind. " _That guy shouldn't be out here._ " She gazed at the first few stars appearing in the sky as she continued on.  
"He can't survive out by himself, Spectra. You know that!" She heard a little voice say and looked to see a mini version of herself with white wings.  
"Augh! I've really been alone too long if I'm imagining you Shoulder Trolls again!" She groaned and swatted at the little angel.  
"At least it shows you have a continence." Angel fluttered.  
"Continence my tail! We're just proof you're going crazy!" A little devil appeared on the other shoulder.  
Spectra was getting annoyed. "Graa! I don't have time for you two! Buzz off!"  
Angel flew in front of her face. "But you do have time to go back and find Creek."  
Devil poked her head out through Spectra's hair, "Oh, what do we care. The wimp needs to toughen up and take care of himself. Besides, what did he ever do for us!"  
Angel looked Spectra in the eye, her arms crossed. "What if something eats him and you weren't there to stop it? Hasn't there been enough death around us?"  
Spectra looked back up at the stars before sighing. "Alright, I'm going!" She ran off through the woods leaving the two behind.  
"You had to play that card, didn't you!" Devil smirked.  
"Oh, go to hell!"  
"Gladly!"  
The two disappeared in a puff of smoke until the next time Spectra needed them. 

XxXxXxXxXxX 

It was completely dark when Creek finally found a spot near the stream to settle down for the night. He had started a small fire and made a small meal of the raspberries and a few biscuits Spectra had given him. He the wrapped himself in a sleeping bag he had made from the leaf of a Lamb's Ear plant. As he tried to doze off, thoughts of his former tribe flowed through his mind. There were the many times he helped teach the yoga classes, participating in the constant dance numbers, tending to the friendly insects that lived among everyone, and of course, hanging out with the Snack Pack. He missed DJ Suki's music, cheering Smidge on with her exercise, the twins fashion sense, Cooper's harmonica skills, Guy Diamond's antics, Biggie's photo shoots of Mr. Dinkles, Fuzzbert's tickling, even Branch's negativity. He missed Poppy's sweet smile most of all. He enjoyed making everyone smile, just as she did, but her's was the brightest he knew. As he thought of the troll queen, her last words to him echoed in his ears. "and worst of all... you broke my heart! You said it yourself Creek: You've got to live with this for the rest of your life." Creek sighed as he recalled these painful memories. He never meant to hurt anyone and he had no idea Poppy once felt that way about him. He only ever saw her as a good friend. Now the memories made it even harder to sleep. He lay flat on his back and stared at the stars.

 _ **Creek:**_ _One_ __ _a.m., where do I begin_  
 _Crying off my face again_  
 _The silent sound of loneliness_  
 _Wants to follow me to bed_

 _I'm a ghost of a guy_  
 _That I want to be most_  
 _I'm the shell of a guy_  
 _That I used to know well_

 _Dancing slowly in an empty room_  
 _Can the lonely take the place of you_  
 _I sing myself a quiet lullaby_  
 _Let you go and let the lonely in_  
 _To take my heart again..._

Creek had finally sung himself to sleep. He was only out for about fifteen minutes when he felt himself being dragged along the ground. Awaking with a start, he found himself face to face with a blue, winged lizard with green and yellow striped horns and about the size of a Dachshund dragging him by his hair. "Oh cripes! A Nidhug!" Panicking, he desperately grabbed at the grass in an attempt to free himself from the beast's jaws. The Nidhug began to swing its head back and forth trying to knock the troll out. Suddenly, a band of striped grayscale hair wrapped around the creature's eyes. Spectra jumped out of a tree and onto the Nidhug's back. Winded, the lizard opened its mouth releasing Creek's hair.  
Spectra leaped off the reptile's back and grabbed Creek by the hand. "Step on it! Let's go!" The two trolls raced through the forest with the flying beast hot on their heels. Spectra surveyed her surroundings as they ran and noticed a thorny tree with large, green, puffball like blossoms. "Up there, hurry!" The two began to swing climb as fast as their hair could carry them. "Quickly," she snapped at Creek, "blend in!"  
Creek formed his hair to look like the green puffs but the real ones were too large for one troll to copy. "I can't do it! It'll spot us for sure!" But Spectra just formed her own hair around Creek finishing the puffball. She then spread her arms out and the stripes on her body flowed with color until she was completely camouflaged like a chameleon. At that moment, the Nidhug had flown up to the tree and began scanning the branches for its lost dinner. The two kept perfectly still and quiet. After a few minutes, the creature gave up and slithered away. The two changed their hair and skin back to normal and watched as it left. Creek turned to Spectra, his eyes wide. "H-how did you do that?"  
"There are many kinds of trolls in this world, Creek." She said as she sat down on the branch they were on. "Normal trolls, Glitter, Fuzz Bodies, Llama trolls. I happen to be a Rainbow troll. We control the stripes on our bodies the same way we control our hair. Though it's been a lot harder to use since I turned gray."  
Creek sat down beside her. "That was amazing. Thank you... You saved my life. But, why did you come back?"  
She sighed, thinking of the right thing to say. "The truth is... I've been alone for so long and I too am looking for a place to call home. Besides, you're not exactly as skilled in survival as I am."  
"Are you suggesting...we travel together?"  
"Yeah... I guess I am."  
The sun began to rise. "Then I guess we'd better get going." Creek and Spectra gathered their things, got down from the tree and began to follow the stream on their journey singing as they traveled.

 _ **Creek:**_ _I'm on my way from misery to happiness today_  
 _I'm on my way from misery to happiness today_  
 _ **Spectra:**_ _I'm on my way to what I want from this world_  
 _And years from now you'll make it to the next world_  
 _ **Creek:**_ _And everything that you receive up yonder_  
 _Is what you gave to me the day I wandered_

 _ **Spectra:**_ _I'm on my way to what I want from this world_  
 _And years from now you'll make it to the next world_  
 _ **Creek:**_ _And everything that you receive up yonder_  
 _Is what you gave to me the day I wandered_

 _ **Both:**_ _I'm on my way_  
 _I'm on my way_  
 _I'm on my way_  
 _I'm on my way_  
 _I'm on my way_  
 _I'm on my way_  
 _I'm on my way_

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

**AN/ Finally finished this chapter. It took a while but I'm pleased with it. So we've met Spectra, Creek's new companion. I was really inspired by how in the film they can form their hair to blend in so I thought how cool it would be if they could** **camouflage their bodies** **too. As for the Shoulder trolls, I wanted more of a Kristoff talking for Sven from Frozen reference but I just couldn't work it in there. So I went with a Kronk from Emperor's New Groove reference. Anyway, next time we see the two travel together, but will they tell each other how they became gray? FIND OUT!**

 **Also to answer** **Broppy's-Little-Girl's review, I plan on using a few Owl City songs for Creek since the music has that jumpy groove and zen lyrics. Perfect for his character!**

 **Songs used in chapter: Hallelujah by Tori Kelly (from the film Sing)**  
 **The Lonely by Christina Perri**  
 **I'm On My Way by The Proclaimers**


End file.
